I’ve been to almost every Coachella, exceptions being the first one and the last two. Every year around the end of January, my friends in Texas, Florida and California and I would anticipate the lineup release and furiously refresh the message boards until the magic announcement came; then we’d whoop and holler all up and down the phone lines for several days, coordinating flights, hotels and rental cars.

I’ve made lasting friendships with people based on these annual treks to Indio, California. I’ve discovered bands I never would have heard of and seen epic shows that are STILL being discussed. Each year I’d feverishly wait out the two months until I could get back on that polo field, sweating out the hot parts of the day and dancing into the cold desert night. It’s an exhausting event but always worth it.

Of course, the festival that started out as small and special to us soon gained popularity and grew immensely over the years. Some years were better than others (2004!). The last couple of Coachella lineup’s got a big, fat “MEH!” from me and I honestly wasn’t sure that I’d ever attend another. I thought maybe I was becoming one of those jaded types who always complain that stuff used to be better in the beginning, before they went all corporate and trendy. I stopped paying attention.

However today I got a familiar phone call: “Have you seen the lineup yet? HOLY SHIT. Gary Numan??” Praise Jebus for the iPhone, I had the lineup in my hot little hand in under a minute. And it’s good, y’all...I think I may have to make another trip out to my ol’ stompin’ grounds after all. And that feels good.

Tell us who you’re excited about! For me, there’s too many to list but I’ll highlight: PiL, The Specials, Echo & the Bunnymen, She & Him, The Whitest Boy Alive, Deer Tick, Grizzly Bear, MGMT, Dead Weather, Hot Chip, Devo, Gossip, Camera Obscura, Girls, Beach House, Thom Yorke, Phoenix, Orbital, Gary Numan, SDRE, Yo La Tengo, and Florence & the Machine – Did I forget anyone?